El Jalapeño

It sucks they are CLOSED. I really liked this spot, the food, the service and the drinks were all good. The enchiladas were delicious from my past experience and the margaritas were strong.

I wanted to like it, I really did! But my food was just so NOT good!
I ordered the avocado and shrimp appetizer. The avocado was the only good thing on the plate… and it was overpriced to boot.
And the chicken and vegetable soup (which is SO good when done well at Mexican joints) was so incredibly salty I literally took one bite and had to leave the whole thing. Disappointing.
My boyfriend liked his food okay… he ordered the combo fajita. But frankly, the best thing about it was the onions, which isn’t saying much.
I wanted it to be my new favorite neighborhood joint but it was so disappointing! Quality of food and prices… completely unjustified.

I’m surprised by the negative reviews. Most of them seem to be written by people who objected to bad service and/​or not wanting to honor some kind of coupon. Personally, I believe people who write negative reviews based on «coupons» should be barred from writing reviews, but that’s another matter… We ordered delivery, so we didn’t see any of that, however, I’ll comment on the food, which was stellar.
Appetizers
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Guacamole con Totopos: B
The chips were ok. The guacamole tasted fresh but it was a little bland: I would’ve liked some more onions, cilantro, and garlic.
Sopas
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Frijoles Negas: B–
Very bland. Tasted like black beans, not black bean soup. They really ought to toss some jalapeños in it (after all, the name of the place *is* El Jalapeño…)
Entrees
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Steak Fajita: B
I really liked this, but it had two fatal flaws which bring this A– dish down to a B. The onions were delicious and juicy, but there were simply too many of them. Or maybe there wasn’t enough meat. The meat to onion ratio was too low. Secondly, the meat was very tough. I wish the chef marinated the meat to soften it up. I think the meat was also cut with the grain instead of against the grain, which is another thing that contributes to tough meat in meals.
Yankee Nachos (steak): A+
At first blush I was a little disappointed. When you order nachos, you usually stare at a humongous honkin plate of food and proceed to eat yourself into a food coma. The portion size of my nachos was smaller than anything I’ve ever seen. However, they were some of the best nachos I’ve ever had. Absolutely exquisite in every way. I enjoyed them beyond my capacity to express in words. And midway through my meal, I realized my nachos were NOT given in a small portion … I was given a human portion of food. I was actually very grateful for the serving size. And what’s more, they kindly packaged some nacho chips in a bag so that my entire meal wouldn’t be soggy by the time it got delivered. Nice touch. I would vastly prefer a human portion of exquisite nachos than a mammoth portion of good nachos. I would gladly order these again in a heartbeat.
Chicken Mole Enchilada: A
Chicken was soft, tender, and tasty. Mole sauce was high quality. The whole meal was fantastic.
Chimichanga (beef): B–
They should’ve been fried to give a delicious hard outside shell but these were not fried — they were baked lightly so that the very edges were tough and most of the outside was the consistency of a soft taco. No me gusta. Additionally, they seemed to be folded over twice, giving the entire thing a very doughy personality. Too much dough to filling. Didn’t like.

Ordered fish tacos, which came with tilapia. Pro: the tilapia was perfectly cooked and spiced. Con: tilapia is pretty tasteless fish and the tortillas rapidly fell apart. I think this statement is 80% objective, 20% subjective: «fish tacos are better with mahi-​mahi, cod, etc. than with tilapia».
Mosquitoes will bite you to death if you sit outside. Chips and salsa were good. Service was good.

Food was great! I came here around 6pm so it was completely empty. The waitress was very friendly and had the patience to explain to me what the difference was between burritos, Fajitas & Chimichangas.

Went here to take advantage of the ScoutMob deal on a Sunday afternoon. The atmosphere in here is odd, it reminded me of like a mall food court or something almost? It’s very narrow and long with few tables. We waited a long time to have our order taken, and I would classify the entire experience as «meh.» The food was fine, but nothing exceptional, and I think it was a little overpriced. The food at Lobo on 5^th Ave or Court St is much better in my opinion, and they provide a more fun experience.

The food is tasty and abundant — 4 stars. The space is colorful and clean, with flowers on tables (which were too low for the chairs — just one of those tiny but persistent annoying things). But the evening was just a little more stressful than it needed to be.
We ordered the beef chimichangas ($ 10) and chicken mole enchiladas ($ 11). Food came LITERALLY 1 MINUTE after. We were stunned and confused and suspected the food to be microwaved/​crafted by robots. But the chimichangas were delicious! I was liberal with habanero sauce but the beef inside was very fresh. Very well-​prepared, and didn’t taste too deep-​fried at all. The boyfriend’s beef burrito was decently sized and had giant, flavorful strips of steak inside. Mmmmm.
…At this point we realized that we had not actually ordered a burrito, but enchiladas instead!
So we flagged down our waitress. At this point I should note that service consisted of a small, quiet lady with limited English who was so visibly and infectiously flustered by the end of the night. Apparently she was new and all the tables (~8; small space) filled up 20 minutes after we sat down.
We asked her if it was possible to get the mole enchiladas, since we had taken bites of the burrito already. She quickly apologized (seemed she already knew and was waiting for someone to notice) and fled with the burrito. Again ONE MINUTE LATER, the chicken mole enchiladas came out. Honestly I liked the burrito more. The enchiladas were okay but not THAT good for these multiple Unilocal endorsements.
Since «chicken mole enchiladas» shares two vowels and zero consonants with «beef burrito,» we tried to figure out what went wrong with the order. Meanwhile, another chimichanga dish went out to another table who had arrived before us. And then a burrito dish. So the waitress had just switched our two tables’ orders, which explained our light-​speed food. Hopefully the other couple had not been waiting too long…
We also ordered a horchata (Mexican cinnamon-​y rice milk drink, $ 3). It came fast but tasted more like eggnog than anything else. If you’re in the mood for eggnog and it’s nowhere near December, come here.
There’s definitely some misunderstanding with the coupon deals here. I had 50% off from Scoutmob, no minimum, and «according to the guy in the kitchen» we could only get a flat $ 10 off. The waittress was SO flustered and unhappy looking at the end of the night that I just paid the difference.
Happy hour is 4pm-​7pm, but we just missed it. Instead of mints at the counter, there are Ferrero Rochers. Nice, but I was sad there wasn’t complimentary chips and salsa, which was the craving that had driven me there in the first place.
I’d be back for the food but I would hope that the waitstaff are less in distress…

Decent Mexican food.
The spot is a bit odd… it’s almost as if they tucked a restaurant into the lobby of an office building.
We got an enchilada, which was OK but a bit small, and the beef fajitas, which were a large portion, and tasty, but not amazing. We had to order extra tortillas, and it was slightly odd that the dish didn’t come with rice or beans. We also weren’t served any chips or salsa.
Finished off with the sopapillas with ice cream. It was a HUGE serving, but again, just OK. The ice cream wasn’t anything special, the sopapillas were nice and freshly made.
The service was slow and somewhat confused.
If this place were right next to my house, I’d probably eat there frequently (the prices are pretty good), but it’s not really worth traveling out of my way for — there’s lots of better Mexican food in this city.

Looks like Slopers have been hittin the Haterade hard huh? Trust me, this place is the sh*t. From the hilariously cheesy décor to the location (love walking along President) to, of course, the grub. Chips and salsa are some of the best I’ve tasted (and I’m from socal). The chipotle seafood plate ($ 14) was delish — wasn’t a huge fan of the fish but the shrimp and the rest were amazing. Also got the portobello mushroom burrito ($ 11). It was an outstanding combination of flavorful mushrooms + flavorful mushrooms seeping into the rice & beans. I didn’t realize none of this stuff had any cheese till the very end of the meal. Doesn’t need it. So tasty! Last thing, our waiter was sooo sweet. I will be back!

I had a Scoutmob deal for 50% off El Jalapeño and since I haven’t had mexican food in a while, I thought I would take advantage of the opportunity. Boy, what a big mistake that was.
I get there and I got to choose any seat I wanted. Some of the tables were filled with trash and have not been bussed yet. My bf and I got free salsa and chips as a starter and they were delicious. I thought the salsa had a good heat and the chips were fresh out the oven, and nicely seasoned. I was impressed.
However, things started going downhill soon after. The entrée took so long to get to the table and NO ONE WAS THERE! It was only my bf and I eating and the food took forever, how crazy is that? The food was mediocre. My chicken enchilada verdes was a bit mushy, but the green sauce was good. My bf’s chicken chimichanga was delicious. The rice was Awful with a capital «A» because it was mushy and overcooked. The beans did not have any distinct flavor. Overall, just an average dish.
The décor is a friggin eyesore. If you saw how it looked inside, you’d know what I’m talking about. It’s like a teenboppy stuck meaningless posters & thingamajigs on the wall and called it a mexican restaurant.
The trouble was they were ALMOST not going to accept my Scoutmob and they claimed that we did not order $ 20 worth of food. But, we did and the coupon says 50% off anything. They were being very shady and I vow not to ever go back.

I’ll start off by saying that our server was very friendly and attentive.
However the service was SLOW. There were only 2 other small groups of 2 or 3 people in the restaurant and it took about an hour and a half from being seated to paying the bill. And we didn’t get any appetizers, drinks or desserts.
I got the enchiladas de camarones (shrimp enchiladas) and the boyfriend got the enchiladas verdes (with chicken). They both came with rice and beans. We’re from Texas. While both dishes had potential, they did not satisfy our craving for TexMex. The chicken was bland and a little watery. The shrimp was decent, but also could have used a little more seasoning. It would help if they marinated the meat. The rice and beans were average, again nothing special.
Thankfully we had the 50% off scoutmob deal, so our disappointing meal only cost about $ 9 for the two of us. The food was edible, but I definitely wouldn’t go out of my way to come here again.

Service was slow but extremely nice. Slowness is due to too many tables for on waiter.
Food was excellent, best authentic Mexican I’ve had in NYC. And price appropriately to boot.
Fajitas came out of the kitchen sizzling (a must) and the shrimp enchiladas with green sauce was top notch. I’m visiting again soon and this time ordering the fried ice cream to boot!

The food is cheap, large, and consistent. The margaritas are strong, delicious, and $ 4 during happy hour. The décor is hilarious and inexplicably includes a 2-​way mirror.
This review is mostly in honor of the wonderful little man who wears the giant sombrero and keeps my water glass full. This man is… the man. He is completely charming with his little jokes and innocent flirtations. «Three margaritas for you, beauties?»
The evening ended with a free tequila shot, and a double cheek kiss from the Man in the Hat. Now that’s hospitality.

Scoutmob described El Jalapeño as «the answer to all of your TexMex cravings», and after pursuing this seemingly exaggerated call to action, I am very delighted to confirm that they are correct. El Jalapeño offers up rich, authentic, addictive Mexican food in the likes of what I’ve really only experienced on the other side of the border.
Chips and salsa are a standard start to a meal in most any Mexican restaurant, but in most of the touristy, Corona-​bottle-​touting establishments, this means stale corn products and bland, watery, tomato based dip. Not at El Jalapeño. Primarily, the chips were not only fresh and firm, but they were covered in salt — just the way I would have done them myself. Secondly, the salsa was well textured, complex, and pleasingly spicy. Great start to the meal.
The offer of sweet plantains on the menu definitely caught my eye as well, I’m a sucker for them. The authentic Mexican way to prepare the sweet plantain — not the tostone, mind you — is to slice them up, douse them in honey, and throw them on grill top. These came out perfectly done, just that way; soft, sweet, and awesome. Take a look at the picture!
The grand finale, and best part of the meal (hard to believe, given the rave reviews so far, right?) were the Chicken Mole Enchiladas. The mole had an intense, deep flavor that hinted at the poblanos used to pull it together. If spicy would be the equivalent of a flame, the flavor of this mole would be better represented by the smoke resulting from it. Your mouth doesn’t light up, you won’t sweat, but the flavor is powerful all the same. Along with the beans and yellow rice, I devoured this plate without saying much aside from «This is TOO good» between mouthfuls. If you are all on the fence about what to order on the menu, this MUST be the first thing you try at El Jalapeño.

The menu is very Americanized Mexican and it’s a no frill place, but the dishes I’ve tried do have a bit of flair. For example, I had a beef chimichanga, which could easily have been a big deep fried log of ground or tough beef. What I got was two smaller chimis, smothered in a tangy sauce, and the meet had been long stewed in seasoning, making it soft and flavorful. I’m also a fan of tomato-​based salsas and really liked theirs.
My one complaint would be they don’t have a lunch menu or specials, so it’s a tad pricey for frequenting as a lunch spot.

Nice
Server
But so slow.
The food itself
Was rather bland and normal proportions.

If you like a big burrito, and I do, you’ll love this place! Unfortunately, that’s all I’ve had so far, but it was soooo good that I wanted to share it!
Looking forward to trying other items on the menu soon!

This place used to be an Israeli restaurant, which I never ventured to try, but I’m so thankful it’s become El Jalapeño instead.
Don’t let the generic décor fool you, the food is delicious! And I love the waiter who is always smiling with a giant sombero.
I got the shrimp fajitas and they were divine!
The tortillas are heavenly… I have no idea what they do differently, but it’s got me raving about tortillas for goodness sake!
The prices are well worth the giant portions and savory flavors!

I scold myself for not knowing this was here. For chiming in to agree with my friends who claim there are no good Mexican restaurants in New York. My friends, we were mistaken.
The enchiladas verdes are habit-​inducing. The chips were fresh-​out-​of the fryer hot. I swear, if i could, I would eat nothing but enchiladas from El Jalapeño for the rest of my life.
Besides that, the service is incredible and insanely friendly. Our server wore a black suit and the most incredible sombrero I have ever seen. They danced to the norteno that was constantly playing.
I’ve definitely found a new local favorite…

Absolutely delicious!!!
I went to support this new Park Slope restaurant because it is across the street from my apartment. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much, it’s kind of a weird space and I thought that it would be like Tex-​Mex and I am usually a taqueria only kind of guy. What I found was a good solid Mexican restaurant that serves very tasty food similar to what I had growing up in Santa Cruz, California. Needless to say, I am now an «El Jalapeño Believer!!!»
One of the best, if not the best salsa I have had in New York City as good as anything you would get in Santa Cruz where I grew up. You can taste the freshness. The chips were nicely crisped also, I was thinking, maybe these were fried just for me – on my way to the restroom I glanced into the semi open kitchen and I noticed that there were some sitting in the fryer basket, so the answer would be yes, they were cooked for me specifically.
I ordered Enchiladas DE Mole for lunch. They were served nicely hot, moist chicken inside of a quality corn tortilla, good amount of sauce, not to much or to little. I recall saying to no one but myself. «this is great!» The enchiladas were served with Spanish rice and refried beans, both of which were well seasoned, perfect in texture, and very very fresh tasting.
As a cook, I could taste the pride and love in this food.
I washed this down with one of my favorite things, a Jarritos mandarina… yum freakin’ yum! I also noticed that they serve a large selection of agua frescas, and I am looking forward to trying the watermelon or horchata when I eat here again, which will be very, very, soon.
Other notes:
This restaurant was impeccably clean.
The server was very nice and beamed with pride when I complimented them, and says, «nothing from can!» to which I replied, «I know, I can taste the love in this food!» Obviously a true believer.
They do not sell beer, I think that the liquor license is on the way and unfortunately I forgot to ask about the BYOB policy. I will be sure to next time.
The interior is very sparse and although it is extremely clean (like feel comfortable to eat off the floor clean), it could use a bit more decoration or warmth added to it – but at this price point with high quality food, who really cares. And they play great Mexican Banda musicas which helps a bit.
Overall, the freshest and most flavorful Mexican food I have had in New York… and yes La Superior is great, but this was only $ 10 bucks including tax and the one salsa here is better then any one of the six they offer there (and complimentary); And I absolutely adore La Flor De Piaxta, but that’s a taqueria and an assertion of dining courage when you compare the hygiene of the two establishments.
I want to give them 5 stars because I think that, for the dollar amount involved, this is the top of it’s genre, but I have to take off a star for the drab interior. One star for food, one star for service, one star for cleanliness. and although it is also food, one star for that salsa, it is so freakin’ good! (I dub that star the «X-​FACTOR STAR.»